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Perth Transport Futures Project

Perth Transport Futures Project

Through delivery of Phase One of the Perth Transport Futures Project, Balfour Beatty and Perth and Kinross Council have adopted a ‘one project team’ approach to every element of the project. This partnership has allowed for a structured and effective approach to delivering social value to the communities surrounding the project and has allowed the efforts of the team to touch every sector of the community. The outcomes that have been achieved are testament to the value of this approach and have resulted in a significant SROI being recorded against the project.

Phase 1 of the Perth Transport Futures Project is providing a new link road from the A85 Crieff Road across the A9 dual carriageway and River Almond into Bertha Park. The scheme will also deliver a number of measures and improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. These include a shared use cycle/footway over the whole length of the new link road, a new footbridge over the A9 at a point north of the new grade separated junction, the creation of a path adjacent to the diverted Lade and Toucan facilities at all new traffic signal junctions.

The benefits of the project include:

The grade separated junction and link road will provide better flow of local and through traffic and easier connections to Inveralmond

Pressure will be relieved on Inveralmond roundabout

Improved pedestrian and cycle safety over the A9

Expansion of Perth as envisaged by the Local Development Plan

Opening up of development land

Increased network capacity and improved flow on the A85

Delivered under the Scape Framework, the £35m project has operated with a firm focus on meaningful and innovative community benefits across the full spectrum of the community of Perth and Kinross. The project has measure its social value add using the Social Value Portal and a suite of corporate TOM’s, based on the National TOM’s and tailored to focus on Balfour Beatty’s core values and aspirations. Whether working in partnership with local schools and the Developing the Young Workforce team to encourage young people to consider careers in the industry or working with the Scottish Prison Service to provide opportunities for those with a background of offending to turn their lives around through training and employment, the project has delivered wide ranging and varied benefits in line with the National TOM’s framework. A focus on spending and employing locally, wherever possible, has also resulted in significant financial benefits being conferred to the community of Perth.

To date, the project has delivered:

7 week long work experience placements to young people

21 longer duration work placements to a variety of individuals including 6 placements for prison leavers and 5 long duration placements for serving prisoners

Engaged with over 2000 school pupils and students across the local area

58 individual educational engagement events including taking the ICE Bridges to Schools workshop to 6 local schools and over 700 pupils

16 Apprentices, Graduates or Trainees employed through the scheme and completing over 3000 days of work